The increase in online interaction created by COVID-19 has generated a spike in girls and young women being subjected to what91裸聊视频檚 called technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV). The term refers to everything from sharing someone91裸聊视频檚 nude photos without their consent to sending unsolicited pictures of one91裸聊视频檚 own genitals.
TFSV, a range of harmful and sexually aggressive online behaviours, affects 88 per cent of all Canadian university undergraduate women. Younger teens are also affected by these behaviours.
Survivors have few legal options, and have recently been found to be at higher risk of suicide. This highlights the need for more education and legal reform around these acts, which some legal experts say should be criminal.
Early exposures
91裸聊视频淣o matter how much you think you91裸聊视频檙e protecting your child, they can still get to them,91裸聊视频� says Heather Mackie of Vancouver, B.C., whose name has been changed to protect the identity of her daughter.
Two years ago, Mackie91裸聊视频檚 then 12-year-old daughter, Emma (not her real name), created an Instagram account for her fictional character on Roblox, a popular online gaming platform whose users are mostly under 16 years old. What Emma next received in her inbox shocked her, and her mother.
91裸聊视频淚t was a picture of a man91裸聊视频檚 genitals,91裸聊视频� says Mackie. Emma was visibly upset. 91裸聊视频淪he deleted it and blocked him. We then deleted the account.91裸聊视频�
Experiences like Emma91裸聊视频檚 are common. A recent Canadian survey of university-aged women found 6.4 per cent had their first experience with online sexual harassment between 12 and 14 years of age.
Experts differ slightly in how they classify forms of TFSV, with one classification including image-based sexual abuse (non-consensual sharing of victims91裸聊视频� images), video voyeurism and unsolicited sexual images, which is what Emma received.
Another definition adds online sexual aggression and coercion, including extortion, blackmail and bribery, as well as online harassment of people based on their gender or sexuality.
Terminology is important. According to Rosel Kim, staff lawyer at the Women91裸聊视频檚 Legal Education and Action Fund in Toronto, terms such as 91裸聊视频渃yberviolence91裸聊视频� downplay the severity of the act. 91裸聊视频淐yberviolence is not separate from violence,91裸聊视频� she says.
Another term, 91裸聊视频渞evenge porn,91裸聊视频� blames its victims, and is better described as a form of image-based sexual abuse.
Which brings us back to Emma, who a year later had a second incident. She was on the now-defunct social networking app Houseparty and witnessed a friend being harassed online.
91裸聊视频淭he language they used was shocking,91裸聊视频� says Mackie, whose daughter took screenshots of the chat and reported the incident to the police liaison officer at her school. The bully had sent an image depicting anal penetration of a popular children91裸聊视频檚 cartoon character, and the rest was 91裸聊视频渕ostly words telling her to go kill herself.91裸聊视频�
Words that, as it turns out, can lead to real harm.
Online violence and suicide
91裸聊视频淪exual violence has been around forever, but the context has shifted (online),91裸聊视频� says Amanda Champion, a criminology PhD candidate at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C.
Champion is the co-author of a 2021 study that clarified the psychological link between TFSV and suicide. According to her findings, TFSV victims91裸聊视频� public exposure makes them targets for bullying, which can lead to depression and the feeling that they91裸聊视频檙e a burden to friends and family.
This 91裸聊视频減erceived burdensomeness91裸聊视频� leads victims to 91裸聊视频渂elieve that you91裸聊视频檙e so much of a burden that your death is worth more than your life,91裸聊视频� which opens the door to suicide, Champion says.
In Canada, this process was starkly illustrated in 2012, when 15-year-old Amanda Todd died by suicide after a nude screenshot of her was shared online without her consent. A year later, 17-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons, who was allegedly raped and then bullied over shared photos of the assault, also ended her own life.
In light of these stories, lawyers have been pondering how to hold perpetrators accountable for TFSV while protecting survivors.
Legal options
In Canada, not a lot of people realize they can report TFSV to the police, says Suzie Dunn, a law and technology professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 downplayed by society and even by police. People are still conceptualizing whether or not these are true harms,91裸聊视频� she says.
When it comes to legal options, Kim and Dunn say the key is understanding what TFSV victims91裸聊视频� goals are. 91裸聊视频淢aybe they want images to be taken down, or an apology 91裸聊视频� not necessarily to put a person in jail,91裸聊视频� says Kim.
Under the Canadian Criminal Code, an offender may be charged with voyeurism, obscene publication, criminal harassment, extortion or defamatory libel. However, if the only goal is to have harmful content taken down, then pursuing a criminal charge may be more trouble than it91裸聊视频檚 worth, Kim says.
The first barrier is convincing the police that there91裸聊视频檚 enough evidence to charge an offender. Then once in court, 91裸聊视频測ou have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� a high burden of proof, says Kim. During trial, the accused91裸聊视频檚 lawyer may also expose a survivor to further trauma.
Lastly, the criminal justice system moves slowly 91裸聊视频� and without a conviction, harmful content stays up, says Dunn.
The need for legal reform
Dunn says Canada lags behind other nations such as Australia when it comes to education, research and legislation around TFSV.
Since 2015, Australia has had an eSafety Commissioner, 91裸聊视频渢he world91裸聊视频檚 first government agency committed to keeping its citizens safer online.91裸聊视频� Kim and Dunn say Canada should have a similar government-funded statutory body that advocates in this area.
Starting points for advocacy may include implementing more expedient image take-down laws and regulating social media companies such as Facebook, agree Dunn and Kim.
91裸聊视频淭hese platforms make money through engagement. What91裸聊视频檚 engaging content is often extreme content that tends to be abusive or violent,91裸聊视频� says Kim.
In last fall91裸聊视频檚 federal election, the Liberals promised to rework online harms legislation within 100 days of Parliament91裸聊视频檚 Nov. 22 return 91裸聊视频� that timer is set to expire on March 2.
Anthony Fong, Global Journalism Fellow, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site.
